Redmurray
Redmurray is an island nation off the coast of Nortellia, in close proximity to Valhunnia. The first Centralians to settle the island were Gyrens, who ruled the North Island (Redmurray proper) from 1617 until being forced out by the Airedalians in 1703. Redmurray rebelled early on during the Valhunnian Colonial Revolt, but the nascent Valhunnia lacked the naval power necessary to defend the island, and they ceded the island to Sabaronnia in 1777, to prevent a larger war. By the mid-19th century, however, the Valhunnians were powerful enough to drive the Sabaronnians off the continent, and Redmurray became the Sabaronnians' last Nortellian colony. It was at this time that the South Island became part of Redmurray, as the Sabaronnians circumvented having to cede it to Valhunnia by declaring it to be part of Redmurray, which was excluded from territorial concessions. The Sabaronnians became increasingly repressive rulers, however, and the people rose up with in 1863, winning the war with Valhunnian support by 1865. From independence to the Great Colonial War, Redmurray was a very close ally of Valhunnia. The war changed this, however, as workers in the textile industry which became heavily focused on supplying the Valhunnian war machine after their entry into the war in 1905, and became increasingly radical. They received popular support from a populace fed up with wartime rationing and inspired by contemporary events in Gentelibre. They rose up first in 1907, and although initially suppressed, they emerged victorious in a second uprising in 1911. The Workers' State was short-lived however, as the Valhunnians, after the end of the Great Colonial War, backed a successful counter-revolution in 1916. This led to a string of unstable dictatorships that lasted through to the 1940s. During this period Redmurray was once more a close ally of Valhunnia, and stayed neutral in the Great War, but was ready to come to Valhunnia's aid if they were attacked by either side. By the end of the war, however, dictatorial President Joãozinho Afonso was very unpopular, and Valhunnia's relative power had decreased greatly due to the war. These two factors combined led to a communist overthrow of the government, which once more resulted in authoritarian rule. Throughout the First Cold War Redmurray leaned heavily towards the USER, and the communist regime relied on Ebelinian support to stay in power. Tensions with Valhunnia were very high after the signing of the Treaty of Economic & Military Cooperation with Airedalandia, and after the fall of the USER many in Redmurray sought to calm relations with their neighbours and return to liberty unseen in decades. This led to a bloodless coup in 1993, with Vice President Francisco Perez, son of President Alfonso Perez, declaring his father to be unfit for his duties, seizing power and promptly passing reforms to satisfy the people and prevent being ousted himself. After a failed attempt by Communist hardliners to retake power, his popularity soared, and he was able to pass sweeping reforms. Many of these reforms were included in the Constitution of 1998, which has been in effect ever since. These culminated with the creation of the democratically-elected National Assembly which took over from the Communist Party's Politburo, which was in the Communist Era the ''de facto '' legislature. After the National Assembly officially granted President Perez a pardon for his role in government repression as Vice President earlier in his career, Perez scheduled a Presidential Election for 1995 in which he did not run, declaring he would "let democracy run its course," and retired to a life of activism. The internationally-monitored election ran much smoother than expected, and Arman Wilson became the nation's first democratically-elected leader in close to a century. He was praised by the Airedalandians and Valhunnians, as was Perez for his role in facilitating the transition to democracy. With modest amounts of Airedalandian and Valhunnian assistance, the economy which had long been stagnant under the communists and more recently been disrupted by the unrest was steadily growing. Arman Wilson served three five-year terms, being defeated in 2010 by Democratic Socialist Daniela Fortunato. Although Redmurray once more leans quite heavily to the political left, freedom has been preserved, and the people are prospering under a healthy, steadily growing and diverse mixed economy. Category:IC Category:Nations